User blog:MontagnaMagica/Coaster Wars: Carowinds vs. Six Flags Over Georgia
It's time again for the next edition of Coaster Wars! This match-up is going to be one between two major theme parks located just a state border away from each other; Carowinds, and Six Flags Over Georgia. If you don't know how this works, check out the opening paragraphs of the first Coaster Wars, Six Flags Magic Mountain vs. Cedar Point. Location (3 Points) Carowinds Located right on the border between North Carolina and South Carolina, this park's rides are known to sometimes actually cross the borders mid-ride. The park was originally built to help bring the two states together. Six Flags Over Georgia Six Flags Over Georgia is located near the major city of Atlanta. Its climate very similar to the climate in Carolina; summer highs average 89° Fahrenheit (32° Celsius). Winner Temperatures in both areas are about the same. Carowinds' border-crossing park is a neat, and unusual idea, so the edge in this match-up goes to Carolina's parks. :Carowinds: 3 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 0 Theming (3 Points) Carowinds Carowinds was originally themed to the many different areas of the Carolina states. When the park was owned by Paramount Parks, most of this theming was eventually replace with movie themes. Now, most of the immense theming has been lost. It is mostly just individually-themed attractions. Six Flags Over Georgia Like its sister park, Six Flags Over Texas, this park was originally themed to the six flags that flew over the territory of Georgia. However, in recent years most of this theming has been replaced by cartoon and superhero themes. Winner Both parks have similar stories in theming. They both started with a clear focus, but lost it later on in the years. This round is a tie. :Carowinds: 6 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 3 Food (1 Point) Winner Neither of these parks are particularly impressive in the food category. As with most theme parks, food is far overpriced! Once again, the only fair turnout here is a tie. :Carowinds: 7 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 4 Children's Areas and Attractions (2 Points) Winner Both parks do a good job with spreading the kids' rides around so that the parents aren't stuck in just a single section of the park. The determining factor is the fact that Six Flags Over Georgia has more kids' rides than Carowinds. :Carowinds: 7 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 6 Flat Rides (2 Points) Winner Both parks are about as even as it gets in this category. Drop Tower and Acrophobia are extremely similar 16-story plunges. Scream Weaver and Wheelie are also nearly identical. What else is there to compare? Carowinds has a swinging inverter ship called Southern Star. Six Flags Over Georgia has no comparable attraction. That gives the victory in this round to Carowinds! :Carowinds: 9 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 6 Roller Coasters The total roller coaster count at Carowinds is two greater than the count at Six Flags Over Georgia. The two roller coasters that won't be compared are Lucy's Crabbie Cabbie and Woodstock Express. This gives Carowinds two extra points to start this round off! :Carowinds: 11 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 6 Stand-Up Coasters beginning the first drop.]] Vortex vs. Georgia Scorcher This is one of the closest match-ups I've had while creating this blog series! Georgia Scorcher, the last B&M stand-up, manages to do a lot with its design. It weaves through the loop, does a corkscrew, and has several sudden drops. While Vortex has most of the same features, it is slightly shorter, slower, and is not as long. Again, this was a really close one, but Georgia Scorcher wins this one. :Carowinds: 11 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 7 Cloned Woodies Hurler vs. Georgia Cyclone Neither attractions has a particularly outstanding design. Hurler is very long and spread out; not doing much with its speed. Georgia Cyclone is a mirror image of the original Cyclone at Coney Island. Both rides are also considerably rough. Cyclone's design, however, is the better of the two designs. Six Flags Over Georgia is making its come-back. :Carowinds: 11 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 8 Unique Woodies Thunder Road vs. Great American Scream Machine races at Carowinds.]] Both of the wooden coasters travel far in one direction, then turn around to make the exciting return trip. Although Great American Scream Machine's design may be more creative, the racing on Thunder Road is the determining factor in this match-up. Thunder Road is the winner. :Carowinds: 12 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 8 Flying Coasters Nighthawk vs. Superman - Ultimate Flight Nighthawk is a Vekoma lay-down coaster, otherwise known as a flying coaster, in which the riders ride in either a face-down, or face-up position. Superman - Ultimate Flight utilizes a similar seating arrangement. It was manufactured by the well-known manufacturers Bolliger & Mabillard. Despite the more creative design of Nighthawk, it is not the victor in this round. Superman is smoother, more comfortable, better simulates a flying experience. :Carowinds: 12 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 9 Loopy Thrillers .]] Carolina Cobra vs. Dare Devil Dive Carolina Cobra is a Vekoma Boomerang built with the newer, more comfortable train design from Vekoma. Its two steep lift hills that drop riders through three inversions are some of the most intense roller coaster experiences you will find! Dare Devil Dive also takes advantage of the lift hill segment. It lifts riders vertically, then drops them beyond 90°. All of this with a simple lap bar restraint! The winner of this match-up is Dare Devil Dive for its unique design, and the fact that it is one of just a few looping roller coasters to not use an over-the-shoulder restraint. :Carowinds: 12 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 10 Unrelated Match-Up Ricochet vs. Mind Bender Sometimes, it is just impossible to find an equal match-up! This is one of those times... Ricochet is a wild mouse coaster that features several unnaturally sharp curves that whip riders side to side. It is facing off against Mind Bender, a foresty adventure that features two vertical loops. The more thrilling, and more scenic attraction, Mind Bender, wins. :Carowinds: 12 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 11 Mine Trains Carolina Goldrusher vs. Dahlonega Mine Train Sometimes, it's easy to forget about these small roller coasters. They may be overshadowed by the larger attractions in the park, but they are still great rides! Dahlonega Mine Train is quite scenic and has a fun design, but the same can be said for Carolina Goldrusher. Their statistics are almost equal as well! Could this be the first roller coaster match-up tie? The answer is, "Yes"! Both of these mine train rides are very good rides! :Carowinds: 13 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 12 Hyper Coasters Intimidator vs. Goliath Here, we have two B&M hyper coasters, full of wonderful airtime! Of these two designs, the better one is Six Flags Over Georgia's Goliath. Not only does it leap over the road next to the park, it also has an intense helix for the turnaround. :Carowinds: 13 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 13 Family Coasters Flying Ace Aerial Chase vs. Wile E. Coyote's Grand Canyon Blaster It's the little ones' turn to face off! Winning this battle is Flying Ace Aerial Chase. It's one of only a few small-sized inverted coasters in the world, which makes it a unique experience for small thrill seekers. :Carowinds: 14 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 13 Multi-Loopers Carolina Cyclone vs. Ninja .]] An interesting match-up takes place here! First of all, Carolina Cyclone is not a wooden coaster like its name might seem to indicate. It is, in fact, a looping roller coaster; the first to have four inversions. Ninja features five inversions and a more compact design. Taking the victory here is Ninja. Because of its compact design, the train dodges countless supports and tracks while navigating crazy manœuvers; much like a ninja would! :Carowinds: 14 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 14 Inverted Coasters Afterburn vs. Batman The Ride It all comes down to this one match-up for the tie-breaker. As we all know, Batman The Ride is not a unique experience in the roller coaster world. There are twelve identical rides to be found across the world. Afterburn, on the other hand, is a completely unique design; but is that enough to win? No, it isn't. Honestly, twelve copies of a ride is really not too much for this huge world. Does Batman The Ride win, then? Unfortunately for Six Flags Over Georgia, is does not. Afterburn was built by the same manufacturer, but after they had gained some valuable experience. Afterburn's design is a large improvement over the older inverted coaster designs. :Carowinds: 15 :Six Flags Over Georgia: 14 The Victor That concludes this competition! Carowinds held onto its lead, and defeated Six Flags Over Georgia by just one point! If you are fortunate enough to live close to either of these parks, be sure to go visit them. They are some of the best amusement parks in the world! Want More? This is part of a series of competitions I hope to create. You can view previous match-ups, or suggest new ones on this page. Category:Blog posts Category:Coaster Wars